'The Prom' Musical Star Sinclair Mitchell Proposes to His Boyfriend Onstage: 'He Said Yes!'

"From this day until my last day, if you will have me," The Prom actor Sinclair Mitchell said onstage before getting down on one knee and popping the question to his boyfriend of 12 years, Joe Kokofsky

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Published on March 15, 2022 12:34 AM

Theatergoers in Providence, Rhode Island, were treated to an extra special "prom-posal" this weekend.

Sinclair Mitchell, who plays Mr. Hawkins in The Prom's North American tour, brought the crowd at Providence Performing Arts Center to their feet after curtain call on Saturday when he pulled his boyfriend of more than 12 years, Joe Kokofsky, onstage to pop the question in front of their friends and family.

"Joey, we have had a working relationship for as long as I can remember," he began. "We've been dating for the past 12-and-a-half years, and I want you to know it's been the happiest 12 years of my entire life. I love everything about you, I love your family — they're out there somewhere. I love your friends, I think they're out there too.

"And I just want you to know, most importantly, I love you. You're my sun, my light, my shining star. You are perfection, and you're the reason I believe in love. And now, I want to profess to the world, to your family, to your friends — and some people I don't quite know — that from this day until my last day, if you will have me," Mitchell said.

Mitchell then got down on one knee and slid a ring onto his future husband's finger. "He said yes!" he exclaimed to applause from the audience, before sharing a kiss with Kokofsky.

For more on Sinclair Mitchell proposing to Joe Kokofsky, listen below to our daily podcast on PEOPLE Every Day.

Following the engagement, Mitchell tells PEOPLE that his fiancé started out as one of his agents. He explains that Kokofsky came to see him in an Off-Broadway show 12-and-a-half years ago and that they "have been inseparable ever since."

"As for the engagement, I masterminded a plan to get him onstage," he says, adding that he "worked with the cast, crew, stage management" and friends to orchestrate a faux raffle to get Kokofsky on stage.

After the proposal, Mitchell says Kokofsky told him that once he left the stage and returned to his family, "a stranger asked him if that was part of the show. He told her no, that was real life, and she gave him a big hug."

"The entire cast, crew, and audience were so supportive, it was a magical moment that couldn't have gone any better," Mitchell continues.

Joe Kokofsky and Sinclair — Joe Kokofsky

"Teaching inclusivity with this show across the country, it warmed our hearts with joy to have the entire audience aw-ing and cheering us on."

The Prom follows four Broadway actors seeking some good press, who travel to Edgewater, Indiana, to help a lesbian high school student who's been banned from attending prom with her girlfriend, inspired by the true story of Constance McMillen.

RELATED VIDEO: Cast & Crew of Broadway's 'Prom' Are Planning a Virtual Prom for High School Students

The Tony Award-nominated musical was adapted into a Ryan Murphy-helmed movie, which premiered on Netflix in 2020, starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Nicole Kidman, Andrew Rannells, Keegan-Michael Key, Ariana DeBose and Kerry Washington.

Find tickets to The Prom North American tour here.